°°° Blackmailed to Blackmail °°°
The rest of the drive to the Whites was uneventful. They’d given Sean quite a tour of downtown Louisville. The Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory was one that Mr. White and Andrew were most excited about. Mr. White promised to visit with them before Sean leaves, but Sean and Jason weren’t that excited. When they passed by the Muhammad Ali Center, they both could hardly contain themselves. They immediately made the decision to visit, no matter the cost.
Arriving at the Whites, Sean immediately went up to Jason’s room.
It was a shared attic bedroom. Initially, Jason and Andrew shared a room until Andrew decided he was ready to have a room to himself. Jason loved the idea of an attic bedroom and decided to move out, insisting on the shared attic bedroom design he’d seen online. He was relentless with asking and finally got his wish after convincing Andrew to help him out by asking their parents to sleep in his room every now and then. Seeing as Jason’s bed was too small for both and moving mattresses each time was stressful, his parents finally broke and promised to meet his demands if he could raise a certain amount, which he did in a week.
The walls were painted white. Two windows were at both ends of the left wall with another above the space between both beds. A wooden reading table was at the right side of the room with two shelves above it, both holding Jason’s trophies.
"Nice room," Sean said, dropping his bag. Last time he was here, Jason and Andrew still shared the room next to their parents' downstairs.
"Yeah… "I saw some ideas online, mixed them up, and boom," Jason said, feeling proud of himself.
"I’m guessing the bed with the rope dart design is yours?" Sean smiled, pointing at the bed on the right side of the room. The wooden foot board had a rope dart—a long rope with a metal dart attached to one end—engraved onto its surface.
"Good eyes bro," Jason laughed and walked to the wall opposite the bed. He opened the wardrobe that stood on the wall from end to end and tossed Sean’s duffle bag in. "We’ll arrange your stuff later. My mom’s back," Jason said and walked to the door.
Sean heaved a sigh and turned to follow Jason downstairs. All attics he’d seen had ladders to go up the attic hatch, but the Whites had built theirs to have a door.
A spiral staircase led up to the attic, but where the ceiling was meant to be was broken and raised higher at that point to allow a door to be fixed up. They believed a hatch would be dangerous if it would to be a room.
He walked out of the room, trying not to think of how much was spent on Jason’s dream room, and even more trying not to think about the fact that they’ll be moving out, leaving all that to whoever would buy the house from them.
"Would they build another attic bedroom for Jason when they get to Canada?" Sean couldn’t help but think about it. He shook his head to get his mind under control. "Focus on having fun, Sean." "Forget Canada for now," he cautioned himself, and he walked down the spiral staircase.
"Sean!" Jason’s mother, Ann, exclaimed with joy as she saw him. "It has been ages," she smiled, spreading her arms open for a hug.
Sean felt a bit awkward. A few years ago, he’d have run into that hug, but at age fifteen, it felt like a thing for kids.
Ann pulled him in, noticing his hesitation.
"No one is too old for a hug, Sean," Jason’s dad shouted from across the hallway, his mouth filled with a bite of the cake in his hands.
"Manners, Dan," Ann cautioned his talking with food in his mouth.
"Sorry, ma’am," Dan, Jason’s dad, said, standing straight as though he were a soldier in the presence of a superior.
"Can you guys not embarrass me any further?" Jason face-palmed.
"Good afternoon, Mrs. White," Sean smiled, slowly pulling out of the hug.
"Come on Sean… "Lunch will be served in a moment," Ann smiled, pulling him along.
~~
"I don’t recall your folks being so... I don’t know... "Warm, playful, huggy," Sean said to Jason later that evening back in the attic bedroom.
"They are nice people, but yeah... this was kind of extra," Jason said, lying on his back. "It’s probably because of the move," he added, and the atmosphere became gloomy almost immediately.
"A consolation prize, huh?" Sean smiled to himself.
"You could call it that," Jason shrugged while sitting up. Silence descended for a moment. Jason’s face suddenly beamed with a mischievous smile.
"What?" Sean asked, noticing the smile.
"I don’t know," Jason shrugged, his expression changing immediately as he looked unsure—a look that was never on his face when it came to ideas.
"What are you cooking up in that crazy head of yours?" Sean asked figuring he was up to something.
Jason chuckled as he had been caught. "Alright. I was thinking. My parents right now are probably feeling bad, Dad especially. His job is going to be taking us away from friends, far away for like the bazilliont time."
"Is that even a word?" Sean raised a brow.
"I don’t know," Jason shrugged. "The point is, Dad is feeling bad about the move. "He is willing to do virtually anything for us, well, more for you," Jason said, making a weird face. "Anyway, I think we can use this to our advantage," Jason smirked.
"Take what to our advantage?" A voice came from the door.
Both Sean and Jason turned to the entrance, and standing there was Andrew. His brown hair touched his shoulders; his hazel-green eyes screamed innocence.
"What the…," Jason yelled. "Andy I told never to come in without knocking," he ran to the door and slammed it shut.
"Hey, it was open!" Andrew screamed in defense.
"Quiet Andy," Jason covered his mouth.
"What’s going on up there!" Jason’s Mom yelled out downstairs.
"It’s nothing, Mom!" Jason shouted back.
"Andy, honey, are you alright?" Ann called out; they could hear her footsteps coming up the staircase.
Both Sean and Jason turned to Andrew, not sure what would happen next. If he were to say he wasn’t, Jason’s plot would be uncovered.
"I’m good, Mom." "Jay was mad; I saw him lose an arm wrestling match against Sean," Andrew answered.
Sean started to look at him as a not-so-innocent ten-year-old kid. His reply carried so much sincerity that he would have believed him if he had not been in the room.
"Okay, babe," Ann replied, and her footsteps receded. "Don’t play rough, kids," she added.
Jason let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding as the tension cleared.
"I’m in, or your little secret is out," Andrew threatened before anyone could say anything.
"Can you believe this kid?" Jason turned to Sean.
"Blackmailed to blackmail," Sean face-palmed. "Just great."
°°° Feets °°° Sean woke up to a knock on the room’s door. "Jay, you are going to be late for school," Ann’s voice followed the knock. "I almost forgot." Jason still has school this week,’ Sean yawned and turned in his bed. Jason wouldn’t be able to skip school until tomorrow, when his class’s excursion trip begins. "Funny how time and events aligned for this visit," Sean said, rubbing his eyes as he sat up. "Yo! "Jay, Jay!" he called out, standing up. "Jason!" he yelled, peeling the blanket off Jason’s body, forcing him to open his eyes. "Hey... what gives?" Jason cried out, squirming in his bed. "Dude, you are going to be late," Sean said, throwing the blanket back on Jason. "No… "I just need a little bit more," Jason groggily said and yawned, hugging the blanket. "What the hell, bro... "Are you still bed wet?" Sean said with a tone of dipalm. "Huh?... What are you?" Jason spoke with sleep still in his voice, then stopped as the words sank in. "What?" he yelled, sitting
°°° Interrogation °°° "Hey Mom," Sean slumped into a sofa in the living room, earphones plugged into his phone. "Sean… "How are you doing?" His mom’s voice came through the speakers. "I’m great. How are you? How’s work?" He smiled, staring at the ceiling. "Hey, I called you..." "I'll be the one asking the questions here," Kate replied, sounding stern, before bursting into a round of laughter, making Sean laugh at her inability to pretend. "How’s the hood?" Sean shuffled into the leather sofa. "Hope no burglar came knocking?" "Well, one did last night. "He said he needed your help to break a friend out of holding," she replied, successfully pulling off a serious tone. "I told him you’d get back to him when you returned from your current jailbreak in Kentucky." "Damn ma… "You've been practicing!" Sean laughed. "Your lying skills are getting really good." "What can I say… "I learned from the best," she chuckled. "And who’s that?" Sean asked with pride in his voice. "Who e
°°° Behind the Scenes °°° The tweeting of birds up in the trees and the calm winds built an atmosphere of calmness in him. Sean had been jogging since he left the house. In sixty-five minutes, he had visited every route connected to the one Dan had asked him to take. He figured that not only was Jason inconsistent with his runs, he was also a lazy runner. He never spent more than fifteen minutes on any route, going to and fro, at least according to Feet. "Deactivate in-ear instruction," Sean said, sitting under a tree. The electronic voice went silent, and at his command, the sound of 50 Cent’s "I don’t know officer" track ended as well. He opened his bottle of water and drank from it, steadying his breathing pattern. The arm band suddenly beeped, and he looked at the screen. ||Your sugar level needs a boost|| The words kept flashing with an annoying beep. He sighed, as it was at least the fifth time, and the beeping was much louder and the light brighte
°°° Self Sabotage °°° The rest of the day went by quickly. By 6:45 pm, Ann and Dan were both home and were seated at the dining table alongside Jason, Andrew, and Sean. Ann had prepared her mom’s signature black rice with chicken and salad. "So…" Ann started a conversation as the dinner was oddly quiet. "How was school today, boys?" She looked at both Jason and Andrew. Andrew lifted his head up and stared at his brother to know if he should speak and what to say. Seeing that Jason wasn’t going to reply, he spoke up. "School was... well, school was school." "Today was actually tasking." "Huh." "Well, I’m all ears," Ann smiled. "It wasn’t teaching in the academic sense." It’s more of a social thing. "You probably wouldn’t understand," Andrew tried to select his words carefully. "Try me," Ann challenged with a smile. She knew Andrew was trying to keep something from her; she didn’t know why, but she knew that challenging him would get him spewing details. A smug smile slo
°°° Bad Decisions °°° Sean could barely sleep throughout the night. He kept having recurring dreams about the snatching event. Either he was crushed under the wheels of Melvin’s car, sandwiched between Melvin’s car and the store, stabbed to death by the slow one who’d intentionally dropped his pace so as to take him unawares, broken his head, neck, or spinal cord from his double flip stunt, missed the tree and fell endlessly, or the one with the bag shot him dead. The dreams woke him up almost every eighteen minutes into each sleep. He heaved a sigh of surrender and decided to use the opportunity that sleeplessness presented to pack up his things. In a few minutes, he was done. He wore a black hoodie over a white inner shirt. His dark blue jeans looked black in the absence of light, as did his dark brown footwear. He walked to Jason’s bed and took a picture of the napping boy, laughing softly at the funny face he was making in his sleep. He quietly walked o
°°° Grim Truths °°° Sean highlighted the SUV a few seconds after they got back to the house. He grabbed his bag, feeling a bit ashamed of his actions, and walked to the door. "Sean," Dan called out. "Come with me." "There's something you should know," he said, tilting his head in the direction he wanted them to take. "Boys, you too." His smile was calm yet alarming. Jason looked at Sean, who was equally confused. The trio shrugged in unison and walked after Dan. In a minute, they were at the back of the house. They hardly ever came back there, but they made sure it was always neat regardless. "Come on," Dan beckoned on them. The three boys slowly walked to him. He was standing, hands on his waist, staring at a group of garden gnomes that were placed in a circle on the grass with a sleeping beauty toy in a miniature glass coffin. It looked like a Snow White and the Seven Dwarves scene, only there were twelve gnomes. "Hey… "I remember that," Andrew smiled, taking a step
°°° Not so Pleasant Surprise °°° The rest of the morning was peaceful. Andrew threw tantrums after finding out he had to go to school without Jason, whose class would be going on a field trip. Since it held little to no academic value, he decided to sit out the two-day trip. Sean reminded Andrew of the gain and attention he’d enjoy, as most kids would want to know what new heroic saves Sean had made. A smug smile was plastered on Andrew’s face throughout the drive to school, a smile that Sean was sure would last throughout the day in school. It was almost eleven fifty in the morning, ten minutes before Ann would be back from seeing a client. The kitchen was a mess; flour was scattered everywhere. In the pans were the dishes Ann had washed after breakfast, the floors, and the boys—Sean, Jason, and Dan—who had called in sick to work. Sean was supposed to be in charge of taping the baking experience, which soon became a flour fight. They had all covered themselves and
°°° Dinner °°° Lunch was served at 3:30 p.m. A creamy and highly aromatic Mac and cheese dish that Jason and Andrew couldn’t get enough of Sean and Dan, on the other hand, were stuffed from the cake, and Ann had eaten some grilled key lime chicken wings while they cleaned up the kitchen. There were plenty of leftovers. The rest of the day was spent in the living room watching movies. Sean was a bit surprised that the Whites didn’t ask their kids to go to bed as a result of the upcoming exams. In fact, he had been quite perplexed by the fact that they had agreed to his coming at such a time. It was mostly because of the move, but still, they weren’t the least bit concerned about how these past few days would affect their children’s performances in school. Sean concluded that Jason and Andrew were just that smart. He was also smart himself, which is why his mom didn’t really have issues with his trip, but she also trusted him to study while he was in Kentucky. The Whi
I would like to use this medium to honestly appreciate you for reading till the end, thanks a ton.I really had a hard time working this book till the end, it had a lot of twists and turns that I hadn't expected. With every research I made throughout the course of writing this piece, I kept seeing ways it could have been better, but despite the imperfection, you remained in the journey till now, thanks a bunch.I would also like to thank my grammar and punctuation editor 'Miracle Mgbe'. It was a crash program, editing over one hundred chapters in five days, thanks a lot.To everyone that supported this book with their reviews and comments, thanks a ton, for those who just added it to their library, thanks a ton, for those who just opened it to get a better look at the book cover, thanks a lot too lol.Anyways, book two is already in the works, I can't promise a release date as I would like to perform as much research as possible, but I will say this, "Bloody Horizon; Gods Amongst Us" w
°°° New Frontier °°° • Unknown Dimension • In a realm of pure terror, a hellscape unlike anything movies have made as their depiction of "hellish," a place where the laws of nature were twisted and contorted and reality itself was a malleable thing, the silhouette of a humanoid figure clad in a flowing robe walked. The realm was dark and foreboding, with twisted spires of obsidian jutting up from the ground, casting deep shadows across the landscape. The sky was a sickly orange hue, with no discernible source of light, and the air was thick with the stench of sulfur and brimstone. As the silhouette ventured deeper into the realm, the very fabric of reality began to warp and twist. The ground churned and groaned beneath his feet, as if trying to swallow him whole. Rivers of molten lava flowed freely, and great pillars of flame shot up from the ground at random intervals. A being sat in the center of this hellish expanse.Its presence carried immense power and chaos. It was surround
°°° Back In Control °°° The day was overcast and somber as people gathered at the cemetery to bid farewell to Carlos Wilson and Colonel Jennifer Moretti. It had been two weeks since the “Heart of Mexico” event, as the world has named it. Sean had made a remarkable recovery and was there, accompanied by his mother, Kate. Sarah, Malone, and a few other auto shop employees were also present. ColonelWilliams had come along with Karen, and May, the Colonel’s daughter, had come to pay their respects. Everyone lived in denial of what they knew to be true for the first few days following the Heart of Mexico event.Carlos had gone to Mexico to try and make some investments, and Colonel Jennifer had said she was going to have a get-together with some friends from the academy. Everyone wanted to believe that they had left Mexico in time, or at least that they weren’t within the range of the damage, but after the first few days, they knew the duo hadn’t escaped. Their hope for the next few
°°° Power of a God °°° • Dark World • Sitting in the blue-hued spotlight, Colonel Jennifer tended to her legs, awaiting her fate. Being in the Dark World was her safest bet; even if Carlos were to kill Oracle Janice like the Mother Omega had hinted, she figured there was no way he could figure out how to get there, and if he did, the odds were that the Mother Omega would not permit a stranger into the Dark World. But like before, she couldn’t be more wrong. A bright light appeared behind her, and she turned around eagerly, hoping it was a Silvered Sister, but when she saw it was blue, she hoped with all her might that it was Oracle Janice, but looking up, all her hopes were crushed. Standing in the light away from her was a starkly naked Carlos Wilson. “Killed by a naked man,” were the first words that escaped her lips as she shook her head and turned away from him. Carlos looked at himself and realized that he was actually naked. He'd been naked so much that day that he'd grow
°°° Heart of Mexico °°° • Mexico City, Mexico In the city, now made into a crater, there was nothing but silence and flames, but in the midst of the rubble, a boulder was “driving” itself through the rumbles, keeping to the shadows as it navigated the city. It kept moving until it arrived at the epicenter of the explosion. After a couple seconds, the boulder rumbled silently, and then it split apart from top to bottom, revealing two people. They both looked like they had been through hell, especially the bald African American, who needed to be supported by his partner. Blue and Madera slowly walked closer to the spot that was the source of the blast and halted, looking at it for a while. In front of them was the lifeless corpse of their organization's most powerful entity, in a constricting position. “He tried to save her in the end?” Blue muttered in a low and solemn tone. "Nothing remained of her blue, nothing," Madera said, her voice cracking."Why... why was she cursed in su
°°° Theories, Speculations, Facts, 2 °°° • Mexico City • The entire city was still up in flames, at least everything that survived the crushing force of the explosion. The explosion had brought down planes all over the country. The city was every teenager’s vision of the apocalypse and more. The spectacular glory of Mexico was now nothing but history, quite literally, as it would make history as the “World's Largest Crater." The entire city, over 500 square miles of land mass, is now the world’s largest "sinkhole." Colonel Jennifer, dressed in tattered black clothes, hovered above the radiation-filled city.The oracles that were supposed to assist her within and around the city were all within her range of power. Despite the fact that they had been there longer, she had not heard of any of the oracles being promoted.They were all still at mountain level. She had suffered some internal and external injuries as a result of being caught in the fading waves of the explosion's destructiv
°°°Theories, Speculations Facts°°° • Mexico City, Mexico • In the once busy and bustling city of Mexico, there was nothing in sight except death and destruction. The atmosphere was calm and serene, but the reason for this serenity was nothing The sound of the whirring blades of the “Blistering Truth” news helicopter invades the silence, bringing noise to the ears of the dead once again. The channel is a privately owned network dedicated to telling truths that other news stations aren’t permitted to tell. The camera pans over the site of the explosion, which was literally the entire city, but upon deeper analysis, the epicenter was discovered. It was around the city’s cathedral. The aerial view reveals a massive crater in the place of what used to be a tourist attraction, the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral. The crater was several thousand meters in diameter and several meters deep, with debris scattered for miles around. The reporter’s helicopter hovers over the scene, safely
°°° Clash of Power °°° • Guerrero Landfill, Mexico Dirt and dust filled the atmosphere as both men collided, releasing wave after wave of timber-cracking shockwaves as they met themselves, fist for fist, kick for kick, until a blow to the abdomen sent him rolling into a rock, cracking it open. Blue huffed as he tried to catch his breath, struggling to push himself off the ground. “I was expecting that by now you would have been wise enough to know that going for head to head combat against me would be futile,” Carlos chuckled, and he began stalkily walking towards the struggling bald man. “If you had used your ability to manipulate the earth to create an armor, this fight would have been less damaging for you,” Carlos chuckled, but then his grin vanished as he suddenly felt a sinister, rage-consuming presence beside him. His eyeballs turned reflexively to take a glance, and standing beside him was the red-headed lady, Madera. “THOOM!!!” Dust filled the area as she slammed her
°°° The date before death °°° • Somewhere under Mexico "I never thought these tunnels would end," Cardinal Es chuckled as they exited the tunnel, which had shrunk so much that only one person could walk comfortably in it. They had arrived at a sort of underground bunker, just as the higher-ups had told them they would find. "Heh, Madera would be so pissed if she realized she took the wrong tunnel," he laughed as he walked towards the bunker's door. Five meters away from the door, he suddenly collides with an invisible wall and is pushed back a few feet. "Anything less, and I'd have been disappointed," Cardinal Es chuckled, taking a stance. “I really don't think you should be attacking a reflection force field,” Red called out, but Cardinal Es either didn’t hear in time or he didn’t care altogether, as he threw a punch at the force field. THOOM!!! An explosive shockwave cut through the air in the wake of his punch, and as expected, the force field absorbed and redirected the fo